Securing the Polden’s Large Blue Landscape

Our project will help to secure the Polden Hills for the Large Blue butterfly by increasing both its population and distribution within this landscape. Working across a network of 14 sites, a programme of limestone grassland conservation will restore 3 hectares of suitable breeding habitat to strengthen Large Blue numbers at 9 sites and recolonise 5 former, but currently unoccupied sites.
This will be achieved by i) practical conservation management which will include scrub management, ruderal control, increasing the availability of the larval foodplant and installation of fencing to allow conservation grazing. ii) monitoring the impact of this work on habitat condition and butterfly numbers.